An engineer at the Gejukh Reservoir in Dagestan has been placed under house arrest.
The court in the dam collapse case in Dagestan has softened the pretrial detention measure and placed the engineer responsible for the safe operation of the reservoir under house arrest.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," an engineer from the commercial organization responsible for the safety of the Gedzhukh Reservoir dam (OOO "DZIV-2") was arrested for two months on April 12. The Gedzhukh Reservoir was poorly maintained, and the operating organization failed to take action when the dam was threatened with failure, according to investigators. Also in April, the court placed the general director of one of the entities of the Derbent Sparkling Wine Factory, which operated the reservoir, under house arrest.
On April 6, the Gejukh Dam collapsed in the Derbent District of Dagestan. More than 350 residents from the village of Mamedkala and surrounding villages were evacuated. The floodwaters washed several cars off the highway, killing at least four people. The total death toll from the flood in Dagestan has reached six.
The court has reduced the pretrial detention of the engineer responsible for the safe operation of the Gejukh Reservoir in Dagestan. He has been placed under house arrest. RIA Dagestan reports this.
In April, Zarema Mamaeva, an engineer at DZIV-2 LLC and head of the republic's unified press service for the republic's courts, who was responsible for the safe operation of hydraulic structures, was arrested and remanded in custody until June 10 in a criminal case opened following the collapse of the Gedzhukh Reservoir dam.
"The Sovetsky District Court of Makhachkala, as part of extending the engineer's pre-trial detention, placed him under house arrest until July 7, 2026," Mamaeva told RIA Novosti.
According to case materials, the lessee and operator of the hydraulic structures, despite the unsatisfactory condition of the structures and numerous violations recorded in the safety declaration, failed to correct the deficiencies and failed to take safety measures during major floods. This, according to investigators, led to the collapse of the Gedzhukh Dam on April 5 and the massive flooding territories, killing five people, and causing major property damage.
In the North Caucasus, floods caused by heavy rains have been ongoing since the end of March, and they have become some of the most destructive in recent years. The greatest damage was inflicted on Dagestan and Chechnya, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Spring Flooding in the North Caucasus - 2026".